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BDNF: Products

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a member of the NGF family of neurotrophic factors (also named neurotrophins) that
are required for the differentiation and survival of specific neuronal subpopulations in both the central as well as the peripheral
nervous system. The neurotrophin family is comprised of at least four proteins including NGF, BDNF, NT-3, and NT-4/5. These
secreted cytokines are synthesized as prepropeptides that are proteolytically processed to generate the mature proteins. All
neurotrophins have six conserved cysteine residues that are involved in the formation of three disulfide bonds and all share
approximately 55% sequence identity at the amino acid level. Similarly to NGF, bioactive BDNF is predicted to be a non-covalently
linked homodimer.

BDNF cDNA encodes a 247 amino acid residue precursor protein with a signal peptide and a proprotein that are cleaved to yield
the 119 amino acid residue mature BDNF. The amino acid sequence of mature BDNF is identical in all mammals examined. High
levels of expression of BDNF have been detected in the hippocampus, cerebellum, fetal eye and placenta. In addition, low levels of
BDNF expression are found in the pituitary gland, spinal cord, heart, lung and skeletal muscle. BDNF binds with high affinity
and specifically activates the TrkB tyrosine kinase receptor.